Don’t look now but the Nationals are going to be pretty good this season, and maybe for a few more seasons to come. The off-season acquisitions of Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson round out a pitching staff already set to reap the benefits of Stephen Strasburg’s return, and the young infield is encouraging. I’m not suggesting that Orioles fans suddenly become Nationals fans, as that’s tough. I am however acknowledging that the Nationals should be interesting, and with the potentially volatile Marlins, the Braves who had a similar meltdown to the much more highly publicized Red Sox fold job last season, the perennially favored Phillies and the broke and beleaguered Mets rounding out the NL East it’ll be fun to watch. It’s also at least slightly comforting to know that something resembling Major League baseball will be played on our local baseball network this summer.

The NBA Season

The post-All-Star break clamoring for dunk contest reform and defense in the games is an indication of one thing…despite the unceremonious lockout and ambitious schedule, in fact maybe because of the ambitious schedule, America is watching the NBA. As we look toward the end of the season with the trade deadline still to come, look for more NBA drama both on and off the court and hopefully an exciting finish as well.

The Kansas Jayhawks

After stumbling out of the gate (a relative term from a Kansas perspective) the Jayhawks have righted themselves in a big way and following a miraculous (and controversial) come from behind effort over Missouri this weekend, Kansas must be feeling all but invincible. With all of the hoopla over the top end of the ACC and Big-10, plus the admiration rightly built for Kentucky and Syracuse as a result of their respective bodies of work, Kansas is coming as close to sneaking up on the field as any #1 seed in the age of internet scouting could ever hope to be. After recent seasons of hype and disappointment, maybe the Jayhawks are exactly where they need to be.